August 26
August 26
Hope in this life and in the one to come is found in the presence of the Lord, who dwells in and among his people.
Ezekiel 10 is one of the saddest passages in the Old Testament. If this passage doesn’t break your heart, then you don’t yet understand the nature of God’s relationship to his covenant children. Let me provide the background for this account. God had chosen to take the Israelite children as his own. He had delivered them out of Egypt and given them his law. He had provided for them and protected them during their wilderness journey. And he had given them the promised land. All of these amazing acts depict a God who chooses to unleash his power on behalf of his people. They depict the operation of his love and grace.
But God had promised to do something even more amazing for his children. He had promised to dwell with his people (Ex. 29:45). His presence had descended upon and lived among his chosen people. This is so miraculous and mind-blowing that it is almost impossible to grasp. The Creator, Sovereign, King of kings made his presence most known among his children. What set the children of Israel apart from every other nation on earth? Was it their human leaders, their military power, their history, their culture, or their land? No, it was the presence of the Lord. They were unique because God dwelled with them.
But then comes the moment when the presence of God leaves the temple. What could be worse than this? Because of the people’s rebellion, sin, and idolatry, God’s presence tragically no longer dwelled among his people.
This sad historical moment points to the necessity of the person and work of Jesus. Only through Jesus’s righteous life, the acceptable sacrifice of his death, and his victorious resurrection will God again dwell within his people. Those who are in Christ become the true temple where Almighty God dwells. Through his Spirit, God now lives in glory and grace among his people. By grace, we are set apart, not because we are independently worthy or holy but because, by the miraculous working of God’s sovereign grace, God has chosen us to be the place where he dwells as Christ pours his Spirit into us. Rest assured that, unlike in the sad moment of Ezekiel 10, his glory will never depart.